Starbucks' Employee Systems Down After Software Provider Suffers Ransomware Attack

Starbucks Corp. SBUX locations are reportedly calculating employee pay and hours worked by hand after a ransomware attack on a third-party software provider disrupted how the coffee shop's employees view and manage their schedules and how the company tracks labor hours. 

The Details: U.K-based supply chain software provider Blue Yonder first reported that a ransomware attack had disrupted its services last Thursday. The company has indicated it is working "around the clock" with CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. CRWD to recover from the ransomware attack. It has not disclosed specific details regarding the extent of the impact or the ongoing recovery timeline.

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Starbucks told the Wall Street Journal that it is paying employees for their scheduled shifts while the Blue Yonder outage continues. If employees work more or less than their scheduled shift they could be overpaid or underpaid, depending on the hours actually worked. 

Starbucks said it would ensure that baristas will be paid for all hours worked when the software is back online. 

"Keeping our partners (employees) whole despite the outage continues to be our priority and we're ensuring they will receive pay for all hours worked," Starbucks said. 

What Else: Several grocery chains in the UK have also reported disruptions and chains including Morrisons and Sainsbury have had to resort to manual processes which affects their ability to fulfill customer orders. 

Blue Yonder also provides supply chain software services to other large companies in the US including, Walmart, DHL, and Procter & Gamble. Ford Motor Co. F is another Blue Yonder client closely monitoring the situation. Ford spokesperson Ian Thibodeau confirmed to Dataconomy the company is aware of the incident and actively investigating its potential effects.

Price Action:  According to Benzinga Pro, Starbucks shares are down 1.07% at $100.75 at the time of publication Tuesday.

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